How to Mass Rename Files on a Mac

Sometimes you’ll have a folder of photos you’ll want to rename before upload to your website (portfolio-type-original name.jpg). Believe it or not, but there’s an easy way to do this already built in to the Mac desktop. Here’s how to use it.

How to Mass Rename Files on a Mac

  1. Open the folder of images you want to rename. Let's say they're all named something like image02931.jpg.
  2. Click anywhere in the folder, then ⌘+A to Select All files.
  3. With the entire folder still selected, go to File > Rename _ Items
finder rename files.png 4. Change the dropdown to 'Add Text'
  1. Type in the text you want to add (portfolio-portrait-)

  2. Make sure the second dropdown says "before name". The final name will show underneath so you can confirm it's set up the way you want. finder-rename-add-text.jpg

  3. Click Rename.

Every photo in your folder will now begin with portfolio-portrait, so all names will look like portfolio-portrait-image02931.jpg. You can also change the first dropdown to "Replace text" and change something like portfolio-image02931.jpg to portrait-image02931.jpg.

Last updated on 15th September 2020

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